Thursday, June 23, 2011

They came in their hundreds in search of their loved ones. Almost all returned empty handed.

Nearly two thousand Tamils have visited the police in the northern Sri Lankan town of Vavunia over the last ten days to find details of those missing during the war and since the military declaring it's victory over Tamil Tigers more than two years ago.

Ten days ago Sri Lankan police announced they will release information about those held by the police to relatives.

Police spokesperson SP Prishantha Jayakody told BBC Sandeshaya that the information will not be made available to "any body other than the close relatives".

Three centres established in the north, south and the capital Colombo will provide details of those held by the police Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), he said.

Only one man out of thousands who went to the centre in Vavunia was told where his son is. As soon as he was told that the detainee is held hundreds of miles away in the southern town of Galle, he rushed to board the first available train out of town.

Due to the large number of relatives approaching the Vavunia centre, police only meet 200 people each day.

Journalists barred by the police were only able to talk to desperate and tearful relatives by the wayside.

Those who were unable to gather information of their missing relatives were desperate.

"My 26 year old son Pradeep was taken by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) when he went to Colombo to get his passport. That's all we know," Mylu Shanmugathas from Tellipalai told the BBC after his search since 2008 drew a blank once again.

Mr. Shanmugathas has been to police stations, military camps and human rights offices in search of his son.

Some were looking for their sole breadwinner.

"There is no one to provide me. Who will look after me or care if I fall ill?" cried a frail looking Tamil woman who said that her son had gone missing since been taken by the police in 2007.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in place since 1979 gives the authorities power to hold detainees for 90 days incommunicado.

The defence secretary is the sole authority to renew or revoke a Detention Order (DO) under the PTA.

Brother of the president Gotabhaya Rajapaksa currently holds the position.

United Nations, European Commission and India alongside human rights organisations have called for the repeal of teh PTA.

TID officials in Vavunia say that they are unable to provide details of the 'dissapeared'.

The Committee for the Investigation (CID) in Sri Lanka say that they have recorded details of over five thousand dissapearances that took place since 2006.

Leading the Sri Lankan delegation Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told the UN Human Rights Commission in early July that over five thousand suspected Tamil Tigers are held in what he called rehabilitation centres.

The shooting happened in Akhtarabad, on the outskirts of Quetta–Photo by AP

Gunman kills Shia pilgrims in bus attack: police

QUETTA:AFP news in DAWN: A gunman
opened fire on a bus carrying Shia Muslim pilgrims in southwestern
Pakistan on Wednesday, killing three people and wounding nine others,
police said.

The shooting happened in Akhtarabad, on
the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of oil and gas-rich Baluchistan
province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

“At least three people were killed and
nine others were wounded when one of the four gunmen riding two
motorbikes opened fire on a bus carrying Shia pilgrims to Iran,” senior
local police official Farid Breach told AFP.

He said it appeared to have been a sectarian attack but that the shooting was under investigation.

Local intelligence officials also confirmed the incident and casualties.

There was no immediate claim of
responsibility but Baluchistan is rife with militancy, sectarian
violence between majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslims and a regional
insurgency waged by separatists.

Dr Mahathir says race relations today are not as good as when he was prime minister. — File pic

KUALA
LUMPUR, June 23 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad blamed press freedom today
for poor race relations which, he claimed, had worsened since he stepped
down as prime minister in 2003.
He said that this was because press freedom has allowed racial and religious tension to ferment in Malaysia.

“Those days we didn’t talk so much about race, showing disrespect to
others. Today we talk about race and religion, putting a wedge between
the different races.

“Race relations today are not as good as when ‘a dictator of 22 years’ was leading the country,” the former prime minister told a forum of chief executives today.
MORE TO COME

(Malaysiakini) Several journalists and some members of the Coalition for Free and Fair
Elections (Bersih) have received an SMS threat late last night and early
this morning.

The SMS from the
number 601119732179 was sent containing a death threat against Bersih
chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan as well as leaders of PAS and PKR who may
participate in the proposed July 9 rally for electoral reforms.

Ambiga, when contacted by Malaysiakini, confirmed that she had received a similar SMS.

(Don't you have any sense? Why should you support that pariah keling haramjadah Ambiga?
She is a scorned infidel. Don't you know that she is a tool of those
political dogs who are out to destroy the Malays. She claims she wants
to clean up the Election Commission. Clean upher father's head.

These
PAS and PKR lots are deaf, dumb, blind and illiterate. If the EC is
not clean then how did they win Selangor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan and
Perak? The damned Chinese DAP are even more despicable. They just watch
the Malays go at each other's throats. In the end, they will rule the
country and Christianise all of us.

I am warning you. If this rally takes place, my people and I will kill Ambiga and you kelings
one by one, including these stupid politicians who are hand-in-hand
with this scorned infidel... this is my warning. You watch.)

Yet to be told about Bukit Aman meeting

Last Sunday, Malay rights pressure group Perkasa had torched and stomped on pictures of Ambiga at a rally, calling her a "Hindu woman".

Meanwhile, Ambiga said that she had yet to receive any notice to go to the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has yesterday announced that Bersih had been summoned to go Bukit Aman over its plan to hold the July 9 rally.

Two other groups - Perkasa and Umno Youth - which vowed to hold counter-rallies have also been summoned.

All parties reached out-of-court settlement and wished to withdraw the suit.

KUALA
LUMPUR: The High Court here struck off the case brought by former MIC
deputy president S Subramaniam and two others against Maju Institute of
Educational Development (MIED) chairman S Samy Vellu and its trustees.

Judge Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof was informed by T Rajasekaran,
representing the three plaintiffs, that all parties had reached an
out-of-court settlement and wished to withdraw the suit.

Defence counsel Intan Azlina Mazlan confirmed the case had been resolved out of court on May 20.
The court struck out the suit without liberty to file a fresh civil action and made no order on costs.

A High Court interim injunction preventing MIED from admitting new members
until the suit was settled, dated April 18, was also set aside.

Subramaniam and the two other plaintiffs, former MIC Youth chief S
Vigneswaran and Kedah MIC deputy chairman S Ganesan had filed the
injunction on March 1 against Samy Vellu and nine others, preventing
them from increasing MIED’s membership pending the MIED’s board of
trustees meeting onMarch 7 this year.

On March 1, the trio had submitted a requisition to MIED’s company
secretary to call for the EGM to remove Samy Vellu and T Marimuthu, who
werethe signatories of MIED cheques following huge losses suffered by
the MIC-owned education institution.

PETALING JAYA, June 23 — The Najib administration has decided to only give Public
Service Department (PSD) scholarships to university entrants instead of
SPM top scorers from 2012 to avoid the distress they have caused in
past years.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak however said those who do well
in the Form Five SPM examination will receive small bursaries instead to
pursue their foundation studies.

“Scholarships
will be reserved if you are able to get very good results (at
foundation) and (a) place at top universities,” said Najib (picture) in an interview with the Chinese-language One FM radio station today.

“Giving out scholarships at SPM level is not a good idea... Just
because you do well at O-levels doesn’t mean you’ll do well at
A-levels,” he added.

Putrajaya gives out 1,500 scholarships annually and has asked government-linked companies to also offer money for top scorers.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek had said last week public
examinations are too easy, leading to a high number of top scorers
seeking scholarships.

Asked which universities were deemed “top” institutions, Najib said they would be identified in due course.

The PM also stressed that not all top students will be given overseas scholarships.

“Our universities here need top students as well. Here, we complain
our universities are not ranked highly in terms of the world ranking,”
he said.

“At the same time we insist on sending our top students abroad. It is
a contradiction in terms of what we want to achieve,” he added.

The ranking of public institutions in Malaysia has dived through the
years to the point of dropping out of the top 200 universities in the QS
World University Rankings last year.

Six out of seven Malaysian universities, however, improved their
ranking on the QS Asian University Rankings this year, with Universiti
Malaya climbing three spots to 39th, although no Malaysian university
entered the top 10 ranks.

Despite Putrajaya handing out 500 special local scholarships recently
on top of the 12,000 PSD grants it gives out annually, many top scorers
were still disappointed they did not receive government funding to
study overseas.

The main bone of contention in the annual allocation of PSD
scholarships centres around the 1,500 overseas grants, of which only 20
per cent are decided based on merit.

Nine hundred are given out based on racial quotas, with Sabah and
Sarawak natives getting 75 grants each and the remaining 10 per cent to
special needs students.

ALOR SETAR, June 20 (Bernama) -- PAS vice president, Datuk Mahfuz Omar
and the Member of Parliament for Baling, Datuk Taib Azamudden Md Taib
have been dropped from their positions as Kedah PAS deputy commissioners
II and III for the term 2011/2013.

The decision to drop them was made at the special meeting of the PAS
State Liaison Body at the Kedah PAS Complex at Batu 9, Kota Sarang
Semut, near here last night.

The Menteri Besar who is also Kedah PAS commissioner, Datuk Seri Azizan
Abdul Razak said they were replaced by the State Exco for Health, Dr
Ismail Salleh and the former State Assemblyman for Belantek, Md Isa
Shafie.

The State Exco for Housing and Local Government, Datuk Ir Phahrolrazi
Zawawi was retained as deputy commissioner I while the posts of
secretary, treasurer, information chief and state director of election
had also been filled with new appointees.

The special officer (Information) to the Menteri Besar, Musoddak Ahmad,
was appointed secretary, State Exco for Agriculture Datuk Ir Amiruddin
Hamzah (treasurer), and former Kedah PAS secretary, Senator Yusuf Husain
(state director of election).

Musoddak took over the post of state PAS secretary from Senator Yusuf
who had been appointed Kedah PAS director of elections while Ir
Amiruddin replaced State Exco for Religion and Education, Datuk Taulan
Mat Rasul.

According to Azizan, the post of information chief, which was previously
held by Ir Amiruddin was handed over to his Political Secretary,
Mohamad Sanusi Md Nor while the post of assistant secretary went to a
Committee Member of the Kedah PAS Youth movement, Aizat Zakaria.

Gay, bisexual and transgender Turks face widespread
discrimination and homophobia, often suffering beatings by the police
which leave them too frightened to report hate crimes, Amnesty
International said in a report.

The rights group urged Turkey’s new government to draw up laws
preventing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and to
punish perpetrators of homophobic attacks.

The report comes ahead of the annual gay pride march in Istanbul on Sunday, June 26.

Local gay rights associations say 16 people were murdered in Turkey last
year over their perceived sexual orientation, and violence is routine.
Transgender women, who often have no other option but to work as
prostitutes, are particularly threatened.

A survey of 104 transgender
women by Turkish gay rights group Lambda Istanbul found 89 percent said
they had experienced physical violence during police detention.

Amnesty said comments by government officials in Turkey, a majority
Muslim country which aspires to join the European Union, had encouraged
homophobia.

Aliye Kavaf, a Turkish minister of state for women and family affairs,
said in 2010: “I believe homosexuality is a biological disorder, an
illness and should be treated.”

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party, which grew out of a banned
Islamist movement and has a socially conservative ethos, has governed
Turkey since 2002.

The party won almost 50 percent of the vote in an election on June 12,
and has vowed to rewrite the constitution, the legacy of military rule
in the early eighties.

“It is the responsibility of all the parties in the parliament to ensure
that any new constitutional settlement in Turkey outlaws discrimination
on grounds of sexuality or gender identity,” said Andrew Gardner,
Amnesty International’s Turkey researcher.

Turkey offers more liberty to homosexuals than other Muslim countries,
while discrimination and prejudice is also rife in European countries,
particularly Russia or the Balkan states.

Turkish law has never criminalized homosexuality or required a higher
age of consent for same sex couples. In nearly all Muslim countries of
the Middle East and North Africa by contrast consensual homosexual
relations are banned, although the degree of enforcement varies.

But the report details cases in Turkey of individuals subjected to
police brutality, discrimination and violence at the hands of family
members, or dismissed when they seek help.

In 2008 an openly gay man was shot dead outside his house in what is
believed to have been an honor killing by his family. Prior to his
death, the man had complained to police and asked for protection but
officials never investigated his complaint.

Gay men also suffer discrimination within the armed forces. Military
service is compulsory for all Turkish men aged between 18 to 40. They
may be exempted, however, on the grounds that their sexual orientation
constitutes a “psychosexual disorder.”

When asked for proof of their sexuality, gay men are often subjected to
humiliating physical examinations or must supply photos of themselves
engaged in gay sex.

Najib said today that the 1 Malaysia concept will help improve the lives of the public through several initiatives. — file pic

KUALA
LUMPUR, June 22 — Two years after coming to office with his 1 Malaysia
concept, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that the slogan was more than
empty rhetoric but a policy that will improve the lives of the public.

He said the 1 Malaysia concept promises to prioritise the people with
improvements in public service delivery and economic reforms.

“1 Malaysia is also products and services which will lighten the
burden of the people and improve their quality of life,” the prime
minister said at the launch of the pioneer Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia
(KR1M) thrift store at the Kelana Jaya LRT station today.

He said that this included other initiatives such as the Klinik
Rakyat 1 Malaysia which provided affordable healthcare for all
Malaysians.

The KR1M, mooted by the government but operated by local retail
giants Mydin, promises essential goods at up to 50 per cent discount, in
hopes of countering surging inflation.

According to Mydin, the pilot store will sell 1 Malaysia-branded goods such as rice, milk and diapers without profit-motivation.

The move comes as Putrajaya was forced to make cuts to a subsidy bill
that would otherwise have doubled to RM21 billion this year while it
grapples with inflation that hit a two-year high of three per cent in
March and continued climbing to 3.3 per cent last month.

If successful, the store will spawn more outlets in other rail
stations that cater to lower income commuters, Mydin managing director
Datuk Ameer Ali told reporters earlier this week.

“The cost of promotion usually adds 25 to 30 per cent to the price
tag. With the 1 Malaysia brand, it is the PM himself who is providing
the promotion,” he said.

Basic household goods such as sweetened creamer are being sold at
KR1M at RM1.95 instead of RM2.80, and diapers at RM20.50 instead of over
RM40 as found in Mydin stores.

Najib added that KR1M was an example of public-private partnerships that would help the poor and low-income group.

The prime minister is expected to call a general election within the year but recent
hikes to fuel, electricity and sugar prices have sparked public anger,
leading to protests from groups such as fishermen, whose recent strike
caused a spike in seafood prices.

The government has repeatedly explained that it must cut subsidies to
ensure that the budget deficit, which hit a two-decade high of seven
per cent in 2009, is reined in to a projected 5.4 per cent this year.

An opposition leader claims that Umno is the hidden hand behind Perkasa, which has been tasked with raising racial issues.

TAIPING:
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) alleged that Umno, after coming under
pressure from its Barisan Nasional component parties, has outsourced its
racist agenda to Perkasa.

PSM leader and Sungai Siput MP Dr D Jeyakumar recalled how former
Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein once held and kissed the keris,
uttering seditious words against the Chinese community.

Jeyakumar said this did not go down well with the non-Malays, and many turned their backs on BN.
“Now Umno is outsourcing this kind of racist posturing to Perkasa
which is totally outside the party to hoodwink the people into believing
that Umno is a changed, moderate party,” he told FMT.

“Umno is being double-faced in using racism and religion on one hand
through Perkasa to get the support of the Malay community while (Prime
Minister) Najib (Tun Razak) on the other hand is singing the 1Malaysia
unity song to the non-Malays to get their support.

“The policy of using a balance of racism and religion and talks of
unity is to make the people hostage to the status quo of power. But this
will backfire on BN in the next polls,” he added.

Worried about Bersih rally

Jeyakumar said Umno’s claim to be the saviour of the Malay community
for the past 50 years does not hold water after the 2008 general
election as the race has woken up to the reality that they are not on
equal economic footing like the Umno cronies.

He said the Malay community no longer subscribes to Umno’s political
propaganda of divide and rule as the economic rift between the Umno
cronies and the community continues to widen.

The PSM leader reasoned that the silence adopted by Umno with regard
to Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali reveals the party’s tacit support for
the hardcore Malay movement.

Ibrahim recently said that he will lead a counter rally against
election reforms group Bersih 2.0′s planned rally on July 9 and Perkasa
should not be blamed for any untoward incidents.

Jeyakumar claimed that Umno is worried about the Bersih rally, and
are using fear tactics to discourage people from lending support.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, he said the police will act
because the groups seem set on holding their rallies despite permits not
being issued.

“They will be called today, but we do not know if they will come today,” he said.

“We will also speak with Bersih and ask them what is their actual
purpose – justice in the context of democracy, or whether they will link
it to other issues with political, racial or religious overtones,” he
added.

The minister stressed that his priority was the safety of the people and the safeguarding of peace.
“All three will not be granted permits to gather on that date. I am
saying categorically that all three of them will not get it,” he said.

The July 9 Bersih rally is aimed at pushing for free and fair elections.

Perkasa, however, has organised an anti-Bersih march, to be
participated by 36 different NGOs, to take place on the same date. Umno
Youth too is planning for a rally in the same day, to show support to
the Election Commission.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin appeared unfazed by Hishammuddin’s warning.
“He can warn us all he wants. We have a right to assemble as
guaranteed by the constitution,” he said, adding that if summoned, he
would go to Bukit Aman.

Batu MP Tian Chua and Subang MP R Sivarasa said the government’s
reasons for closing the case, as provided in a written parliamentary
response yesterday, was unacceptable.

Balasubramaniam had linked Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to murdered
Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu in a statutory declaration (SD)
made in October 2008.

The next day, he retracted the SD by making another SD, which denied the contents of the first.
In October 2009, Balasubramaniam emerged from hiding, and stood by
his SD implicating Najib, claiming that he was offered money to retract
the document.

Chua had asked a question in Parliament on Monday regarding the
failure of the deputy public prosecutor to act on Balasubramaniam’s
case.

In a written response, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department
Nazri Abdul Aziz said the case against Balasubramaniam was closed
because both his statuary declarations did not have “any impact on the
Altantuya trial”.

However, Chua disagreed.

“We don’t know if either one of his statements would have had an
impact on the trial. The minister cannot make his own conclusions on
judicial matters,” he said today.

Chua also questioned the motive of the government in handling the
matter, saying that if one of Balasubramaniam’s contradictory statements
were found to be false, then that should be used as a basis to file a
case against the private investigator, regardless of the impact it had
on the Altantuya case.

‘Nazri wrong on Section 199′

The reasons provided by Nazri as to why Balasubramaniam cannot be prosecuted also drew criticism.
Nazri had stated that according to Section 199 of the Penal Code,
action can only be taken against providing false statements if they were
made with the intention of using it for court proceedings.
He added that the private investigator’s statutory declarations were
not made for any court proceedings, so action cannot be taken against
him.
Sivarasa took issue with this, arguing that Section 199 does not
explicitly state that a statement must be made with the intention of
using it in court.
“You don’t need to say that ‘I am making this statement to be used in court,” the lawyer-turned-politician told FMT later.
“There are two elements to Section 199. One, the person makes a false
statement and the person making the statement knows it is false.
“Second, that (false) statement can be received as evidence by a
court. Of course, (Balasubramaniam’s statements) can be received (in
court),” he added.
Asked why the issue was brought up now, Sivarasa said: “Because we have just received the written answer (from Nazri).”
“We are just trying to show that the government’s answer is
unacceptable. They are basically trying to avoid the issue. They dare
not charge Balasubramaniam for making false statements,” he added.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- The government will embark on a
large-scale registration beginning July 11 to record the number of
foreign workers and illegal immigrants in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the process, which
is included in the comprehensive programme to resolve the issue on
illegal immigrants or the 6P Programme, would be implemented through a
registration exercise which included the recruitment of all illegal
immigrants using the biometric system.

The programme aimed to gather data on illegal immigrants in the country
such as their work place, their employers, salary and several other
information which would hopefully help in reducing social issues and
crime which were frequently linked to this group.

"We want the exercise to help the government in updating the record on
foreign workers and at the same time reduce the number of such workers
in the country," he said at a press conference at Parliament House today
after chairing a special meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Foreign
Workers and Illegal Immigrants.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the registration programme was open to
all immigrants in the country including those who came illegally using
the social visit pass.

"Legal action will not be taken against those who had come to the country illegally," he said.

Muhyiddin said in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the
process, the government would appoint companies which were experienced
in managing registration including meeting employers and registering
foreign workers employed by these companies.

"For this purpose, we urge the employers to be actively involved (in
taking out and registering their workers) because under this amnesty
programme, no legal action will be taken against them.

"The government also seeks the cooperation of the state governments
through the existing security committees nationwide as well as the
village security committees to assist in this matter because they have
better knowledge on the whereabouts of these illegal workers," he said.

Muhyiddin said the registration process was also aimed at identifying
the manpower needs of certain industries and sectors in the country, and
in this regard, the government has directed all ministries heading the
plantation, manufacturing, construction, and the service sectors as well
as sub-sectors under them, to gather the facts on the strength of
manpower required so that their requirement could be met after the
completion of the registration exercise.

However, he said, all the manpower requirement and job vacancies in all
sectors under any ministry would be advertised to be filled by
Malaysian nationals first and would only be offered to the immigrants if
there were vacancies.

"That is an exercise which the government must undertake to inform
Malaysians that there are job opportunities available and that they
should be given preference over the foreign workers," he said.

Muhyiddin said all exercises under the 6P Programme would be completed by the end of the year.